There is growing disquiet among some senior members of the University for Development Studies (UDS) following what is regarded as the unilateral appointment of Professor Seidu Al-Hassan as the new Vice-Chancellor.
The tenure of the current Vice-Chancellor Professor Gabriel Ayum Teye expires on September 30, 2022, following an extension of his mandate by Governing Council of the University for Development Studies (UDS) by two years in July 2020.
As a result, a VC’s search committee was constituted to look for a possible replacement and report the same to the Governing Council.
But without recourse to these procedures, a new Vice-Chancellor was announced in a letter dated June 1, 2022 and signed by Professor Wayo Seini who is the Council Chairman.
Senior Members of the University who are shocked at the decision want the entire Governing Council of the institution to call the Chairman to order since he may be acting on their behalf.
Some of the members who spoke to MyNewsGh.com disclosed that the statutes and process have been breached to the highest level following the appointment in a letter signed by the Council Chair Professor Wayo Seini.
MyNewsGh.com confirmed that the last time a council meeting was convened was in March 2022 and the next was supposed to have taken place in July 2022 when the issue of the appointment of the new VC would be tabled for consideration.
Meanwhile, per the statutes of the UDS, a person eligible to serve as the VC must at least have not more than five years to serve before retirement but sources reveal that that Professor Seidu Al-Hassan has less than three and half years to proceed on mandatory retirement.
When reached for his comments, Director of University Relations Abdul Hayi Moomen, declined to comment on the matter, indicating that the matter is yet to get to his attention.
Meanwhile, the University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) branch of the University for Development Studies has issued a statement in reaction to the purported appointment of Professor Seidu Al-Hassan.
We publish below the statement unedited.
DUE PROCESS HAS NOT BEEN FOLLOWED
1. We the Representatives of UTAG and CONVOCATION REPS to the Governing Council of the University for Development Studies, have sighted in circulation a letter appointing a Vice Chancellor for the University.
2. The said letter was signed by the Council Chairman
3. As your representatives, we want to bring to your attention that we are not aware of this decision.
4. As stipulated in the Statutes (Statutes 8) of the University, the decision to appoint a Vice Chancellor is taken at a meeting of the Council after the Search Party has submitted its report to Council.
5. We will like to state that, as your Representatives, we have not sighted the report of the Search Party and we have not attended any meeting to deliberate on the report and take a decision on it.
6. Such a decision is communicated to the interested individual(s) or stakeholders by the
Secretary to Council(The Registrar) but not the Chairman.
7. We think that due process has not been followed and your voices through us has not been ably heard and represented in this decision.
8. It is important that, an academic institution such as ours should follow due process that has been laid down and agreed by all of us.
9. We should move away from allowing individuals to take decisions without regard to due process, the consequences of which can derail the gains made through our collective efforts over the last three decades.
10. It is our belief that it does not matter who is appointed as VC of our noble University as long as due process is followed. So, we wish to assure you that as your Representatives, we would do our best to ensure due process as specified in Statutes 8.10 is followed in appointing whoever the University Council deems fit for the position.
11. We thank you for your continued support as we all work for the common interest and development of our great University.
Signed:
1. Prof Francis Kwaku Amaglo ( Professoral rep)
2. Dr Mrs Sanatu Mustapha Alidu (Non Professoral rep)
3. Dr Felix Y T Longi ( UTAG President.)
Source: knustnews.com
